Politics

Rosen: Don't let Mark Udall's Obamacare scandal slide

Republicans say Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., tried to put pressure on state health officials to change the number of people who had their health insurance policies canceled. (Susan Walsh, AP file)

The political damage of Obamacare continues to mount, with a spreading scandal now enveloping Democratic Sen. Mark Udall.

It appears that Udall staffers attempted to bully Jo Donlin, the director of external affairs for the Colorado Insurance Division, after her office reported that health insurance policies of 250,000 Coloradans had been canceled because of coverage mandates under the Affordable Care Act.

In an exchange of e-mails and phone calls, Udall staffers demanded that Donlin retract that number. She defended the report and held her ground. In an e-mail to colleagues, she said, "Sen. Udall says our numbers are wrong. They are not wrong. Cancellation notices affected 249,199 people. They want to trash our numbers."

After Udall's people persisted, Donlin reported, "Following my e-mail, I received a very hostile call from Sen. Udall's deputy chief of staff."

Her use of the word "hostile" is especially significant. Donlin's boss is Colorado Insurance Commissioner Marguerite Salazar, a political appointee. She was previously an Obama administration appointee as regional director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in which capacity she was primarily responsible for implementing Obamacare in the six-state Rocky Mountain region.

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Apparently protecting Udall, Salazar blocked Donlin from press interviews about this affair, claiming, "I can speak for Jo that she did not feel intimidated." Feel? Let's say Donlin is a tough cookie who can to stand up to political pressure. Good for her. But this isn't about "feelings." This is about Udall staffers' intent to intimidate her into downplaying the Obamacare-driven insurance cancellations.

Compounding all this is the attempted cover-up in a sham internal investigation by a so-called "neutral and objective" secret panel led by Barbara Kelley (a Gov. Bill Ritter appointee, carried over by Gov. John Hickenlooper), the executive director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA).

The panel said it found no evidence of intimidation and "zero coercion by Sen. Udall and/or his staff." The three-person panel conveniently consisted of Kelley, her deputy, Michelle Pedersen, and DORA's legislative liaison, John Cevette, former chief of staff to Democratic Senate President Brandon Shaffer. "Neutral and objective," huh?

Adding to the shadiness was Kelley's initial refusal to identify the panel members, which was disclosed only after news outlets filed an open-records request. Kelley also refused to release written records of the panel's investigation, claiming there weren't any. There's now a call for an investigation of the investigation.

Udall has been an enthusiastic supporter and defender of Obamacare, and repeatedly echoed Obama's false promise that, "If you like your current health insurance plan, you can keep it." Since he's now politically married to it, you can understand why he'd want to quash reports of massive health insurance cancellations for his Colorado constituents.

According to Democratic consultant Laura Chapin, "Thanks to Sen. Udall, most people could renew their policies or get a better deal thanks to the Affordable Care Act." That's a lot of thanks. Her definition of a "better deal," apparently, is a big price increase for consumers for coverage they don't want or need to subsidize others.

In his one term in the U.S. Senate, Mark Udall has had a very low profile and been largely invisible on any significant initiatives. Congressional Quarterly reports Udall has cast his vote 99 percent of the time in line with President Obama. This is hardly the pattern of a moderate or an independent thinker.

With Obama's approval record dropping to new low of 36 percent in Colorado, November voters may hold Udall accountable for his role in the failures of Team Obama as well as the unethical behavior of his staff.

Freelance columnist Mike Rosen's radio show airs weekdays from 1 to 3 p.m. on 850-KOA.

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